Let’s start with a personal question: What would you like to tell our readers about Michael Seddig the private individual?
Michael Seddig: I’ll start with what gives me new strength every day: my family. My wife and I met in 1991 during our educations and married in 1994 – 31 years of marriage that have brought us even closer together through ups and downs We have two wonderful children: my son is 28 and my daughter 26. Although they no longer live with us – both have successfully started their careers – we have a very close and special relationship. The fifth member of the family is our wire-haired dachshund Rocky. I really enjoy walking him, going on long walks with my wife, and jogging
My great passion is diving. The sense of calm I experience while diving is incomparable. And if you are lucky enough to encounter a manta ray or a whale shark, it’s an unforgettable experience.
What inspires you in your work, what drives you?
This may sound strange coming from the CEO and COO, but for me, work is a challenge, of course, but also pleasure. I love coming together with a diverse team of people, pursuing a common goal, being able to count on each other, and making a difference. Challenging and keeping an eye on the performance culture – but having an enjoyable time doing it. That’s what inspires me. One very important lesson I’ve learned from my career: if you manage to create a really strong team, you can achieve anything – even the seemingly impossible. Incidentally I am also convinced that this makes a significant difference between successful and less successful companies. Perhaps that helps to explain why I place such a high value on corporate culture and our system of values.
What really motivates me, of course, is the LAPP success story – from a brilliant idea in Stuttgart to a global company. Being able to help shape that every day inspires me.
You mentioned a value system. As a manager and CEO, which values do you embody?
Four things are particularly important to me:
- Being fair – standing by decisions and maintaining an open culture of constructive criticism.
2. “Walk the talk” – start with yourself, lead by example and follow up your words with action.
3. Trust – I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. But that shouldn’t be abused.
4. Performance – I am success-oriented and prefer to work with a good, strong team. Then – as mentioned above – anything is possible. And what could be better than shared success?
What has shaped you in your career? What experiences have prepared you for your new role?
I have a good 30 years of professional experience in companies of various sizes, 15 years of which were in the automotive industry and 15 years in other industries. From the very beginning, I have recognized and internalized a key success factor: align your vision and strategy with the customer and their needs. And then make sure that you meet exactly these needs at the lowest possible cost.
For a large part of my career, I worked for a wire harness manufacturer in the automotive industry. We faced similar challenges there to those faced by LAPP today: How do we develop from a component supplier to a solution provider for our customers? How do we build the trust that we can handle engineering and design-in, for example the co-development of new products? These experiences help me in my tasks at LAPP.
Taking over from Matthias Lapp as CEO EMEA – what does that mean for you?
It means a lot to me that Matthias Lapp, the entire Lapp family and the Executive Board have placed their trust in me. Matthias Lapp has achieved so much during his time as CEO EMEA and I am really looking forward to continuing his work
I have already got to know a number of companies, so believe me when I say that LAPP is something special. I realized that very quickly. The corporate culture, the values that define us, the way we interact with each other – building something like that and then really living it is hard work. And I have made it my mission to preserve it. I also value our identity as a family business. The long-term orientation is a privilege of not being driven by quarterly or even monthly financial statements when making strategic decisions. At the same time, however, it is also a great responsibility that we bear – namely to honor this privilege with performance and commitment.
What does it mean for our customers when you take over as CEO?
We are consistently pursuing LAPP’s 2027 corporate strategy: a focus on consulting and engineering expertise. Digitalization and internationalization. Products and services that go beyond just cables or connectors. Solution provider and partner for our customers. In this respect, LAPP continues to develop. And in doing so, I am continuing what Matthias Lapp started. This strategy is the right one, and I will not change anything about it.
CEO EMEA and COO EMEA: How would you like to shape this dual role in the future? Where do you see your main focus?
My commitment is clear: I will use all my strength and experience to further advance the EMEA region
In my role as COO EMEA, I am supported by a strong operations management team that I can fully rely on. This gives me the freedom to also concentrate on my tasks as CEO EMEA and the strategic work with the EMEA management team. Our joint focus: implementing a holistic, cross-functional market development strategy, aligning all functions with the needs of our customers. If we consistently implement and continue what Matthias Lapp has already initiated here in recent years, we will further expand our market share in the EMEA region.
One of the goals of LAPP’s corporate strategy is to grow disproportionately outside of Europe. But the EMEA region also still has so much potential – and not only in the Middle East and Africa.
The European economy is falling behind the global economy Our largest markets are here – what does that mean for EMEA?
Yes, we are currently operating in a difficult market environment in Europe. Many of our core industries are weakening. However, this cannot be generalized and must not be an excuse. Here in Europe, too, there are growing industries that offer us opportunities. We need to carefully evaluate our target markets and target customers and focus our time on them What is important here is to use the figures, data and facts correctly. In a nutshell: ‘Where to play, how to win’!
But even in weakening industries such as mechanical engineering, where cost pressure is high, we can still use our product and engineering expertise. Here it is important to identify possible efficiency potentials together with the customer – keyword LAPP Harnessing Solutions. Often, a joint look at the drawing is exactly the right starting point for this: can we possibly implement certain manufacturing content more cost-effectively than the customer themselves, using our special skills. With our solution-oriented approach, we are a true partner to our customers, which has already proven itself in previous crises. And: after every downturn, there is an upswing!
How is LAPP positioned today for the future and the next upswing?
We have an excellent standard portfolio – high quality, strong brands, well known in the market, a broad customer base. And we have the right strategy for the future. I have already experienced so many individual moments of success from our colleagues, in which we have managed to position ourselves in the market as a comprehensive solution provider. What is striking is that this is usually the result of good teamwork
One example is the ‘Harnessing’ solution I mentioned earlier: During more and more customer visits, we are not talking about price lists, but about the customer’s challenges, and we work together with engineering to develop solutions. This is real added value for the customer. Another example is ‘Special Cables’: products developed in-house to meet specific customer requirements, such as special fire resistance, gas tightness or extremely challenging environmental conditions. The engineering expertise that I have seen during my visits to the EMEA region is impressive. And here, too, we are celebrating market successes.
We will expand these flagship projects and use them for the entire region. Then the potential is almost endless. I am firmly convinced of that. And I am very much looking forward to shaping this together with the team in the coming years
Thank you for the interview – we are delighted to be able to experience this with you.